ESG
Leading the Global
Transformation of Olympus
Towards Efficiency
Message from the CAO
My Appointment as CAO in April Followed a Multifaceted Business Career Spanning
Numerous Roles
Prior to joining Olympus in 2003 as European Head of HR, I
worked in various HR functions at a leading retailer and at a
major travel operator. It was Olympus that provided me with my
first opportunity to be fully accountable for a firm’s HR function,
in this case for the European territory. But I was also given the
opportunity to broaden my areas of responsibility. Very quickly
my role expanded to include other corporate functions.
In 2008, I was appointed Managing Director Corporate
Division. My responsibilities grew to include all corporate
Leverage Experience and Know-How
As CAO, with responsibility for HR, IT, Supply Chain
Management, and Transform Olympus , I strategically support
initiatives that contribute to the company’s efficiency and thus
to its sustainable growth. I am deeply convinced that process
efficiency is the backbone of a high-performance enterprise.
My European experience is of immense value as Europe can
be seen as being a microcosm of the world. There are different
countries, languages, and cultures that need to be addressed.
42
Stefan Kaufmann
Director, Executive Officer and
Chief Administrative Officer
functions and I became a member of the European Board, as
well as Czech Republic’s Managing Director from 2009-2011.
Following my appointment to the position of CEO for
the EMEA region in 2011, I became Corporate Officer in
2017. Then, in April 2019, I was assigned the role of Chief
Administrative Officer (CAO), which is the position I hold today
in addition to my Board membership.
Having been surrounded by this diversity I have accumulated a
great deal of experience over the years, in this regard. I believe
the experience and know-how I have gained can be put to use
anywhere in the world and will be instrumental in our efforts to
become a truly global medtech company.
Critical Areas to Change
As an example of an initiative to increase the efficiency of
Olympus in Europe, we opened a business center in Poland
in the summer of 2018 to assume all transactional tasks in the
areas of Finance, Supply Chain, Sales Administration, and HR
for all European subsidiaries. Standardizing and automating
business processes is an important part of setting up the
business center, and is common practice in excellent global
companies. In that regard, Olympus should leverage the latest
technology in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine
learning to standardize processes and improve efficiency.
But it is not only about process efficiency. The change that
is so crucial for us will also be driven by strong leadership
capabilities and will truly empower our people, thereby
leveraging and unleashing the potential of these people and Business center in Poland
the company as a whole. I firmly believe that creating an
environment that inspires people and enables teams to work
efficiently should be a common goal for every company and is
a key strategy driver.
Reform Cost Structure to Drive Sustainable Growth
I am responsible for managing the selling, general and
administrative (SG&A) expenses in the 2020 fiscal year. Our
SG&A expenses to sales ratio was 55% in 2019. We cannot
expect to achieve sustainable growth with such a high cost
ratio. In the context of globalization and digitization, high costs
make necessary investment difficult, but a healthy financial
performance will allow Olympus to remain independent and
invest in new technologies for growth. Efficient processes and
an outstanding product portfolio are important for our success.
I am convinced of the potential that Olympus has. I believe
that what we do over the next three to five years can make
a significant contribution to transform Olympus into a truly
global medtech company. It’s the responsibility of management
to pave the way for realizing this potential and to ensure
sustainable development. I am confident that Olympus is a
company that is poised to lead the way in the coming century
by providing our customers with excellent products that are
developed, produced, and marketed efficiently.
Olympus Integrated Report 2019 43